To Run With Fire
by Jade Tea
Summary: A once simple run in the Underground to get supplies for the Rebellion has turned into a race against time to get home as three girls, one critically injured and one not sure she's doing the right thing, fight to get back home. Is home worth the price?
1. Freedom Runs by Torchlight

I don't own pokemon or any recognizable names, references, items or concepts. All original names, references, items and concepts are mine. The plot is also mine.

**WARNING**: Concepts are in this story such as eating pokemon meat, stealing, lying, cheating, realistic wounds on people and pokemon from pokemon attacks, wild-animal behavior of pokemon and descriptions of battles and their consequences are common.

Johto was run mostly on the underground now. Miles and miles of tunnels ran from Kanto to Johto, from Johto to Hoenn, and from Hoenn all the way to Unova and Sinnoh. Goods, textiles, food, supplies and even pokemon were run along those underground tunnels now. But that didn't mean the underground was safe, far from it in fact. Many battles took place in the underground and many lives were lost in cave-ins. But that did not stop the Rebellion from using the tunnels to fuel their plans, and it certainly did not stop the members of the Rebellion from running along the miles of tunnels in order to help the cause. The danger only seemed to make them run faster.

One such runner was quicker than most.

Most chalked it up to her long legs, or the fact she had been running the underground since she could walk, but the fact of the matter was, she liked to run. So that was what she was currently doing: running.

"Eye? Sable Sableye?" The voice of her constant companion came to her ears as she seemed to fly down the barely lit caverns. The girl nodded, her face stretched into a huge grin as she leapt over-and cleared-a pile of sleeping Geodude. "Yes! I am excited." She said back as she panted. Running felt amazing to her, and even though she was carrying two bags on her back that would be filled to capacity once she was done at her assigned fill point, she felt almost weightless. The Sableye on her shoulder snickered with a Cheshire-like grin as his claw-like hands clung to the black fabric of her hooded sweatshirt. He was sitting in the hood, like he usually did when they worked the Underground, but he was small and light. Next to her panted two magnificent dogs. One was a proud Mightyena, bred too large from a female who was too small to carry him. He lived; his siblings and mother did not. She received him from a breeder friend when she was younger and she had named him Sebastian. He thudded proudly next to her, claws scrapping against the dirt as his wild and dirty manes trailed behind him. A few scars littered his chest and legs, and one large scar carved its way from his underbelly to the inside of his right back leg. He carried a bag of his own on his back, used to helping his trainer with the runs.

The other was an equally proud Houndoom. He, too, was larger than normal with one horn that threatened to curl in on itself if his trainer didn't have it regularly sanded down. He carried many scars as well, and many frost burn marks littered his normally pitch-colored fur. His name was Anubis, and he lived up to his name. All three of them cleared another pile of rubble as they made their way down the tunnel shaft to the checkpoints where they could rest for a while. Ariel Noir was immensely proud of her two beastly canines, and they were equally proud of her. But the shortage of proper pokemon food was becoming clear in their appearances. Hunting for wild game like Rattatas, Pidgeys, Duduos, and Furrets had their appearances turning wilder. Black fur was discoloring to grey-black, teeth were coloring to yellow, and claws were splintering apart easily, making for uncomfortable dogs sometimes. But they did their best, like any Rebellion member, to continue fighting to the end.

The torches became more and more dense in their lighting and Ariel knew they were nearing the checkpoint. She smirked and took off, sprinting past her dogs. "Come on, boys! Let's see who gets there first!" She shouted at them and in seconds the two hounds dashed past her, leaving their laughing trainer behind. The two hounds competitively glared at each other as they sped down the corridor, their faces bathed in the orange glow of the candle light. They were eye to eye as they thundered down the rocky cavern. The goal was in sight, the checkpoint was not even five hundred feet away as they both took off into full on sprints. The people in the checkpoint camp looked up to see the two hounds and everyone watched closely. These races were a normal occurrence, and it was never truly known who would win. The two were equally matched and both pushed themselves very hard. Harsh panting, scraping nails, thundering paws, and the echoes of those noises off the rock walls filling the normally silent air of the caverns as they neared the check point. The people were in place now, having made a make-shift finish line for the two. People were stationed on both sides of the line to declare the winner as the hounds neared, their breathing evident of how they were pushing themselves.

The hounds suddenly jumped over the line and landed with a skidding stop as they finished the race. Both were panting hard and quickly laid down in the dust as Ariel skidded by close after. She grinned and sat in the dirt by her dogs, a happy yet tired grin covering her place. "Okay, who won?" She asked as a girl about her age brought the hounds bowls of water. The people at the stop chuckled. "Looked like Sebastian won this race, by the hair's length." Said a man and Ariel nodded, rubbing her Mightyena's head mane lovingly. "That's my boy." She cooed before she ruffled Anubis's head as well. She playfully tugged his non-curled horn and he lovingly nipped her wrist. Sebastian rested his head on her leg as she drank from her own water bottle. She handed the bottle back to her hood-dwelling partner and after he drank a little, he stored it in her hood.

The girl who had presented the dogs with water also brought food from a nearby tent which Ariel happily ate. So did her dogs. "What's the special today, Mia?" She asked the girl and Mia smiled. "Same as always, Ariel. Roast Sandshrew boiled in berry juice." She said and Ariel nodded. A slopping sound to her right made her turn a glare at her Mightyena. "Sebastian!" She barked and he instantly stopped. "Don't be greedy! You're food isn't going anywhere. Have some manners." She berated and he nodded with a quiet mutter of 'yena' as he began to eat his food more quietly. Mia chuckled. "You really are a mom sometimes, Ariel." She said before she stood to get the dogs seconds. "There hasn't been much traffic through this checkpoint this past week, so we have plenty for seconds." She said as she refilled their bowls with the meat chunks and thin fruit-flavored broth. The combination was strange, but it was essential. The two dogs greedily devoured it as Ariel fed the rest of her bowl to her greedy little gem-imp. "Headed to the docks?" Mia asked the older girl who nodded. "Yeah. Going to barter some goods off the Pirates for the month." She said as she held her empty bowl open for seconds. Mia refilled the bowl and smiled craftily. "Barter? Don't you mean just get them handed to you by that boy of yours?" She said slyly.

Ariel giggled and her Sableye snickered. "Well, perhaps barter is the wrong word, but I do have to pay for _some_ of it..." She drifted off mysteriously. "I'm no cheat." She said as she pulled her Sableye into her lap so he could eat without spilling on her. "And about being a mom, Tanzanite here is my real baby." She said as her Sableye glared at her with his large gemstone eyes. His eyes were becoming flawed and discolored; gems were as hard to find as food during wartimes. "Aren't you, Tanza?" She cooed. "Give mommy a kiss." She said as she leaned in to kiss her imp. He reached up and bit her lip which made her yelp and he skittered away snickering loudly with his hiss-like laugh. She glared at him. "Tanza, you little imp!" She growled as she threw the food bowl at him. He snickered and went slightly invisible, making the object pass right through him which made Ariel only color more. She jumped up to chase the trouble maker when Anubis grabbed the end of her black hoodie, pulling her back into a sitting position. She sighed and petting the warm head that how resided on her lap. "Fine. You win this round, imp. But you'd better thank Anu here." She snapped.

"Sable. Sableye eye sable." Tanzanite hissed and Anubis merely opened one eye lazily and closed it again. "Doom." He rasped out lazily before resting again. Ariel gently stroked the head of her dog as she leaned against the large body of Sebastian, who ruffled her long ebony hair with his nose. He caught a length of her waist-long hair in his jaws and ran the strands through his teeth as he moved his head from side to side. Not even her violet-tipped ends escaped his teeth as the canine performed a form of hair brushing for his beloved trainer. Ariel smiled at him with her hazel-colored eyes and allowed him the pleasure of brushing her hair, a job normally performed on the road by Eurus, her Honchkrow. Birds just seemed to have a natural affinity for doing hair. She enjoyed moments like this, lazy moments, when her and her team members were just _together_. But as Tanzanite crawled back into her embracing arms and moved to curl up in her hood again, Ariel knew it was time to move one. She gently tapped Anubis's head and he quickly sat up and shook his head. She smiled and stood. "Alright, thanks for the food, Mia, but we have to get going." She said as her dogs took off, with her following closely behind. She waved at the people at the checkpoint before sprinting to catch up with her canines. Almost instantly, the pleasurable burn of running filled her body and she grinned widely.

The smell of the ocean was becoming stronger and stronger.

The docks were a busy place when the Pirates came into dock. Magnificent ships were being tied and anchored as far as the eye could see along the shore line of Unova's neutral territory. Unova was still in ruin, since it was literally split in half between Team Utsu and the Rebellion, and many people relied solely on the good brought by the Pirates to survive. But that still didn't prevent under the table bargains to happen, from both sides. Both sides needed supplies, and dealing through the Pirates was the easiest way to get goods without a paper trail. It made for profits in the pirating business as well as kept the three-way economy from choking the fence-sitters. Under the table deals kept prices low for the average fence-sitter, and demand from all sides kept the ships competitive. But even then, it was fairly easy to guess what a Rebellion representative was going to ask for versus what Utsu grunts bargained for. Rebellion members generally asked for crop seed, rescued pokemon, tools, fish meat, paper, cloth and wood. Utsu grunts usually demanded metal, weapons, rescued pokemon, tools, indentured servants and information. Any of those could be bought, but the ship's captain set the price.

The mewing of his feline companion woke him from his thinking state as a young man of about nineteen or so finished tying off the dock rope. Once it was secure he used a hand signal to let those on the ship know that it was safe to start lowering the cargo to the dock. His captain dropped down to help guide the cargo to a safe dropping point and smiled at him. "Glad to be back on land, Kouki?" He asked. The black haired man nodded slightly, his red tips falling over his brown eyes as he did. "For the time being." He said quietly before taking out a notebook and a pen. "Excuse me." He said simply as he stepped forward. His low-tied pony tail swished behind him like his companion's tail as he began to document everything that was dropped on the dock. His captain smiled but quickly turned to a serious face as he pulled the ropes to steady the cargo coming down. Kouki was a quiet lad, but when it came to discussing business, there was no one who could make a better deal. He was a complete business man and often buried himself in the tasks given to him on deck, but when it came to the free times, he was often alone in his quarters with his pokemon or below deck re-counting the cargo. He was almost painfully awkward in social situations that weren't about work and he had a habit of hiding near his captain when he felt uncomfortable.

His purrloin, on the other hand, was a tiny furry ball of mischief that often got Kouki in trouble. But as much as the captain found Maio to be a troublesome cat, it was clear Kouki was fond of him. They were often found talking to each other, between the purrloin and his six-tailed Ninetails, Gouka, the captain had a hard time believing Kouki was really all that lonely.

Kouki wandered around, putting all his attention into his work as he documented and checked off cargo. It was a tedious task, one many men complained about, but he enjoyed working. Maio chimed in with a noise of impatience and Kouki looked down at the purple and yellow leopard cub. "Almost done, Maio." He said as he moved to the next lot. The cat rolled his eyes, but followed after his trainer, deciding to be patient for once. But Kouki didn't get very far. He neared the final lot and was about to look into the opened crates when a body slammed in to him from behind. His first reaction was to steady himself so he wouldn't fall over, but his body instantly stiffened. He felt himself falling, but the momentum was stopped rather quickly by a pair of hands. That were wrapped around his waist. Tightly.

The second thing he noticed was the _way_ the hands held him up, as if the person predicted he would lock up and the person would therefore have to hold him up. One arm was latched tightly around his waist while the other crossed over his chest to his opposite shoulder as a head was buried in the shoulder area of his upper back. He looked over his shoulder a bit to see the black hair that rested there and his shock instantly faded. "Ariel...you know I don't like that." He muttered as the arms tightened. A sigh came from the girl behind him and the arms did not let up on their gripping. "I know." She said into the fabric of his shirt. "I just get excited to see you." She reminded. Kouki nodded and maneuvered himself around so he could face her, and as soon as her head was next to his chest, she buried herself in him again. He sighed and looped his arms around her waist, resting his face in her hair. He missed her too.

Sebastian stood patiently by, Maio resting on his back and Anubis to his right, as he watched their trainers embrace after months of nearly no contact. Pirates were supposed to be totally neutral, and had a habit of forming relationships with other pirates to prevent a future conflict from occurring. But neither was willing to give up the other, so instead they agreed to not speak to one another until they were both on dry land and in neutral territory. "Hungry?" Ariel asked as she finally pulled far enough from him to look up into his eyes. Kouki nodded and she smiled. "Okay. Let's get something to eat then. I also have business to talk to you about." She said with a glint in her eye. He matched her glint and allowed her to take his hand as he closely followed her to one of the many land-bound Pirate members' restaurants.

Join us: s4. zetaboards Rebellion _ Fire/index/

Jade Tea


	2. Kiss Me by Candlelight

I don't own pokemon or any recognizable names, references, items or concepts. All original names, references, items and concepts are mine. The plot is also mine.

**WARNING**: Concepts are in this story such as eating pokemon meat, stealing, lying, cheating, realistic wounds on people and pokemon from pokemon attacks, wild-animal behavior of pokemon and descriptions of battles and their consequences are common.

The restaurant was modestly lit, mostly favoring sunlight in the day time and candle light at night. It was half way through the day as Ariel dragged Kouki into the restaurant, him following silently behind as they were seated in a corner table. They had returned all their pokemon, leaving only Tanzanite out and still resting in Ariel's hood, leaving them practically alone in the restaurant. Ariel smiled at him from across the corner-rounding table. "So..." He began before the waiter approached and Ariel smiled. "Hold on, Kouki." She said as she took the menus from the boy and looked over the drinks.

"I'd like the Cherri Sitrus Berry Smoothie, please." Ariel said with a smile. "And..." She looked over at her partner who hissed something in her ear. Ariel nodded and sighed. "And a soda pop, please." She said. The waiter nodded. "And you, sir?" He asked Kouki. The black haired man looked at the menu and nodded to himself. "Milk please." He said and the waiter nodded before taking their drink orders and leaving. Ariel giggled at Kouki and he raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" He asked. "You must have been at sea a long time if the thought of milk with dinner makes you happy." She teased and he colored slightly, muttering about how there wasn't many Miltanks at sea. He had to admit, he liked it when she smiled. Her whole face seemed to light up and it made her even more beautiful. She was built as a fighter, and he'd been in the viewing area when that larger kick-boxer figure of hers dropped a man, but she seemed almost innocent when she smiled. The light scars that were winking at him from the areas left uncovered by her hoodie and her spaghetti strap undershirt seemed to almost disappear when she smiled at him. And he couldn't help but smile back.

"So. What business did you need to discuss?" He said, quickly changing his thought pattern to business. Ariel smiled at his attitude shift and rested her head on her folded hands. "I'll tell you after we eat." She said simply as the drinks arrived. Kouki sighed a bit, but nodded, taking the tall glass filled with milk from the waiter and setting it on the table. Ariel took the smoothie from the man before her imp grabbed the soda pop bottle and began drinking it, hissing happily between gulps. "Slow down, Tanza. Soda wears down rocks and crystals, remember?" Ariel chided. "Sableye, eye sableye sable sableye!" Her imp fired back and Ariel tapped him on the head. "I know it's your favorite, but it's bad for you. So I'm not going to feed it to you all the time." She snapped. Tanzanite hissed at her, his version of sticking his tongue out, and went back to drinking.

Ariel rolled her eyes back to her lover and she smiled at him. "I don't suppose your ship has any gems to spare. Tanza's eyes are clouding and becoming flawed gems." She said and Kouki was instantly on alert. "Let me see him." He said and Ariel lifted her imp from her hood to the table. The purple-grey pokemon continued drinking the soda as he sat in front of his trainer's mate and waited while the inspection began, something Kouki liked to do for all her pokemon. Kouki tested the Sableye's physical and metaphysical reflexes gently and inspected every inch of the small gem-eater's leathery skin. He inspected the claws on his hands and feet before Kouki finally took a small flashlight to his eyes. Ariel was right, the tiny monster's gem-eyes were becoming like flawed crystal. That worried him. Eventually it would cost Tanzanite his sight, and treatments for blinding Sableyes were much more difficult to perform. After all, cleaning a crystal that was also a sensory organ was not an easy task. And a steady diet of gemstones and common crystals was an expensive food choice, especially during a time of war. It was no secret the Rebellion was poor.

"I can get a few." Kouki said with a nod. "But what you need is to get these crystals cleaned. I'll try and get you the information on one when we head out again." Kouki said with a sigh. "Best I can do for now." He said before Tanzanite stood, patted Kouki on the head, and eagerly returned to Ariel's hood. Ariel nodded, looking slightly distressed at her partner's condition before it was wiped away and her smile went back to being flawlessly optimistic. "Alright." She agreed, believing his words that he would find one. And it was true, he knew several crystal cleaners that had worked on Sableyes in the past, but, all of them worked for Team Utsu. That was what made it difficult to tell her. But he just sighed and shook his head. He was depressing himself on his first dinner date with her in nearly four months. The waiter came back and Ariel grinned. It was time for food.

"What can I get for you?" The waiter asked, smile seeming to be a permanent fixture on his face. Ariel briefly thanked Arceus that she actually had a life to live on her own, without anyone telling her what to do. She smiled back. "I'll have the herb ravioli, please." She said charmingly and the waiter nodded and turned to Kouki. "I'll have the seaside soup special." Kouki said and the waiter nodded again, scribbling a few things. "Do you want potatoes or fruit as a side?" He asked and Kouki looked at Ariel. She motioned him for fruit and Kouki nodded. "Fruit, please." He said and the waiter nodded. "Alright, so one herb ravioli, one seaside soup special with a side of fruit. Anything else?" He asked and Ariel nodded. "One Mt. Silver Cake slice please." She said. The waiter scribbled it down, took their menus and left. Ariel drooled slightly. "I haven't had a Mt. Silver Cake in a long time." She purred and Kouki chuckled quietly. Ariel had a terrible weakness for chocolate and Mt. Silver Cake was famous for having an unhealthy amount of her temptation in the recipe.

Silence fell over them again and Ariel sighed. "I missed you." She muttered quietly to Kouki. He tilted his head. "Huh?" He asked, genuinely not hearing what she said. Ariel glared slightly and stood up, putting Tanzanite in her seat as she slowly walked over to Kouki's side. "I said-" She started as she suddenly sat on his lap, startling him immensely. She leaned down to his ear and spoke in a whisper. "I missed you." She reiterated as she leaned her head on his shoulder. He was rigid, eyes darting around the restaurant, counting all the eyes that were looking at them. "I missed you too, Ariel, but..." He hesitated. "People are looking." He stuttered and Ariel shrugged. "Let them look." She said to him quietly. He shook a little, nervous as to what he was supposed to do and he quickly switched back to what made him most comfortable. "So, Ariel, has Eurus's feathers grown back?" He asked, his voice sometimes changing in pitch due to his nervousness. Ariel sighed and sat up, looking him in the eyes. "I said, let them look." She said before she leaned down and kissed him. He was worried again and his eyes looked around the room; nevertheless, Ariel was urging him to respond to her, and he had never been able to deny her for long. His lips moved against hers slowly and Ariel relaxed in his lap, his own body following suit as he quickly forgot about the public display and the people staring.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pulled back to take a breath before diving back in for more. She loved him. Had loved him for a long time. She was elated when his arms wrapped around her waist loosely and his mouth eagerly followed hers. He was finally starting to relax! Her tongue began to reach out to meet his when a cough interrupted them, making Kouki instantly rigid again and Ariel sighed. So much for relaxing. She turned her head to see the waiter and got off her boyfriend's lap to sit in her chair. She sent the man a withering glance before sitting down, fixing her jacket, putting her partner back in her hood, and she smiled. "Foods here." She said simply at the waiter put the food down. Kouki nodded awkwardly and began to eat. "Anything else-" "No." Ariel said with a look to the waiter that had him scampering off.

She sighed and took a bite of her pasta, not even commenting when Tanzanite stole ravioli from her fork as she looked at her boyfriend sympathetically. "Kouki..." She started quietly. Kouki sent a small smile her way and shook her head. "It's okay. I...am getting better, right?" He asked quietly and Ariel nodded with a winning smile. "Much." She said as she took a bite of her pasta, loving the way the cheese and bitter herbs tasted. She looked at the soup Kouki was eating and tilted her head. "What's in that?" She asked. Kouki smiled and took another bite. "Probably a combination of Magikarp and common fish." He said and Ariel nodded. "More and more dishes in Hoenn and Sinnoh are including pokemon meat." She commented quietly. "I get occasional; I mean one of my favorite dishes has grilled Pidgeotto meat, but every meal?" She sighed. Kouki shrugged. "Common animals are being bred to feed pokemon cattle." He replied. Ariel sighed and continued eating her pasta, half of it ending up in her partner's mouth, before she finished eating. She finished drinking her half of the berry-filled smoothie before she gave the rest to Tanzanite, who chugged it down in seconds.

"Okay, Kouki. I needed to talk to you about getting supplies from your ship." She said and almost instantly there was a notebook in her boyfriend's hand. He also got a pen and waited for her to continue. "Okay. I have been assigned to get bandages, wraps, fresh Lum berries, wheat seeds, seeds for Lum, Sitrus, Oran, Cherri and Chesto berries, corn seeds, volcanic fertilizer, twenty gardening spades, and fourteen rescued Tauros." She listed off as she counted each item on her fingers. "Oh! And Lady Leana wanted me to browse your ship's rare item stock. She gave me the coin for it, of course." She said with a sly smirk. Kouki nodded and finished making scribbles in his book. "We have the seeds and fertilizer, you're lucky the captain decided to sail more to the southern islands this time, but the gardening tools are in short supply. Same with medical supplies. And we didn't rescue any Tauros this time. Chatots, Furrets, Bellossoms and Bellsprouts, however, we have too many." He responded and Ariel nodded. "Alright, I'll get the seeds and fertilizer from you. Any idea who might have the other things?" She asked. Kouki thought for a moment, tapping his pen against his chin before nodding. "If it's rescues you want, first ship I'd go to is the _Dragonair's Fang_. Captain Godivia never leaves a pokemon behind if she can save it." He said and Ariel nodded. Sounded like a good place to start. "Same with people. She rescues slaves too." He said as a side-note before standing and stretching his arms. "As for tools...I honestly don't know. Storms kept most of us from docking in Hoenn. Most of the mines are there, so I honestly don't know. You'll have to ask around." He said as he and Ariel left.

Ariel took his hand again, and after looking at their hands, Kouki intertwined their fingers and Ariel beamed at him. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I love you." Kouki colored but smiled at her, whispering back. "I love you too." He preferred being close to her when they were alone, but she was a spontaneous, stubborn, loud-mouthed girl who had no problem being on display for certain things. She wanted to shout that she loved him from the top of a mountain; he wanted to whisper it against her skin when they were alone together. The conflict in preferences sometimes caused fights, but they loved each other too much to let go.

Tanzanite suddenly perked up and he crawled to the top of Ariel's head, effectively ruining her moment with Kouki. "Tanza?" She asked, releasing Kouki to steady the imp with both hands as if he was a hat. "What is it?" She said. Tanzanite pointed straight ahead where a wild-looking Rapidash stallion was thundering down the sea front, straight at them. Ariel tensed and her hand almost instantly reaching for Anubis's duskball when another Rapidash, a shiny mare, crashed into the stallion and ran him off the road. He rolled in the sand, floundering around as the female just watched, tensed for a fight. Finally the stallion rolled himself over and he glared at the mare. His horn began glowing as he pawed the ground with his hoof, getting ready for a Megahorn charge at the mare. She returned his stance and pawed the ground, horn also glowing, and she looked ready. The two fire horses suddenly charged at each other, gaining speed as they went before they finally collided head on, the impact sending them both back and knocking them off their hooves. Ariel gasped as the mare rolled herself over and stood, ready to attack again. The stallion was already coming, another Megahorn aimed directly at the mare's neck. But at the last possible moment, the mare sprang up in a Bounce that landed her directly on the stallion's back. With a pained whiney, he fell again.

Ariel rushed to pull the mare aside as Kouki rushed to help the stallion. Ariel stroked the head of the cream colored horse gently, muttering and whispering to her softly. "Easy now, pretty one." She said softly, leading the horse away from the injured one. "You have a lovely mane. I've never seen such pretty grey flames before. You're trainer must be very proud." She complimented the mare, who seemed to raise her head in pride and gently butted the Ariel's hand for more petting. "Indeed she is, missy!" Came the brazen voice of a woman. Ariel turned to see a figure approach. The woman was dressed in brown pants that were cuffed at the knee and buttoned just above her belly button. She wore a simple brown shirt that the two straps that fell over her shoulders, revealing two arms covered from shoulder to wrist in intricately colorful tattoos. A leather vest was loosely buttoned over the shirt that was colored with pink flowers that grew from the bottom in intricate ivy swirls. Across her waist, covering part of her shirt and vest, was a thick leather belt that had three large gold-colored rings at the center. The belt hung lazily, tilting from side to side as she moved. Silken fabrics, almost like sailcloth, hung from the right-most ring in multi-colored strange like trophies. On her feet where knee-high thick leather boots that looked as worn and well-worked as the woman who wore them. Flaming orange hair was lazily piled on her head as an Ambipom wore a brown and red pirate captain's hat on its head, the twin handed tails wrapped around the woman's waist.

She smirked and bowed, dipping the hat off the Ambipom's head as she went down and returning it to the smiling monkey's head as she returned back up. "Captain Maria Godivia at yer service, missy." She boomed with a good natured tone to her voice. "Now, what can I do fer ye?"

Join us: s4. zetaboards Rebellion _ Fire/index/

Jade Tea


	3. Friendly Drinks by Firelight

I don't own pokemon or any recognizable names, references, items or concepts. All original names, references, items and concepts are mine. The plot is also mine.

**WARNING**: Concepts are in this story such as eating pokemon meat, stealing, lying, cheating, realistic wounds on people and pokemon from pokemon attacks, wild-animal behavior of pokemon and descriptions of battles and their consequences are common.

The captain had a big presence, that much was certain. She wasn't a small lady, by any means of the word, and her presence seemed to make her almost gigantic. But Ariel smirked and watched as the shiny female Rapidash trotted over to her trainer. "I've never seen a shiny Rapidash before." Ariel said. "Was she hard to find?" She asked and the captain nodded. "Aye, missy. Found her on an island south of Oblivia. On'y one in 'er herd of foals that was blue. I spent nearly a month tamin' this one and coaxin' 'er onto me ship." She said as she stroked the horse's neck. "But she's a proper waterhorse now. Evolved on te ship and she be as comfortable 'gainst the sea spray as a Spearow 'gainst te wind." She said proudly and almost instantly Ariel liked her. Ariel looked over and Kouki and watched the breeder work on the stallion. "How is he, Kouki?" She asked, diverting the captain's attention from her horse to the boy and the stallion. Kouki nodded to himself. "He'll be fine. His spine was only cracked, but that's to be expected from a horse fight." He said as he stood, dusting his hands off. "Is he yours, Captain?" He asked kindly.

Maria laughed heartily. "Nay, boyo. I saw 'im chargin down the water front, same as ye, and decided to give my Ashe here a chance to stretch 'er legs. Not a lot of runnin' room on a ship fer a full grown mare." She said and Kouki nodded. "Ya can keep 'im, I'd guess. No trainer or owner is runnin' up to check on te beast. Not even a crew member, so I don't think te ship 'e ran from is that concerned about 'im." She said with a shrug. Kouki nodded again, thinking when Maria clapped him soundly on the back, nearly winding him as she laughed again. "My, my, boyo, so quiet!" She laughed as he quickly retreated closer to Ariel, who took his hand gently. Kouki sighed and looked at the stallion. "He is a fine specimen. He'd make a great stud for breeding..." He trailed off and Ariel smirked. "Kouki here is a pirate by choice, a breeder by passion. And he has a fire-type preference. So this stallion would be a gem for him to add to his breeding collection." She explained. Maria nodded and smirked. "I may have to bring Ashe by if'n I ever decide ta breed 'er." She said and Kouki looked at her and was instantly in business mode. "Breeding her wouldn't be difficult," he confessed, "but getting shiny offspring would be. It is a highly recessive gene, only really occurring in one out of every twenty tries, even with one parent being shiny already. All pokemon carry the gene, so it wouldn't matter if the parent was shiny or not. But she'd produce some gorgeously strong offspring." He said and Maria nodded, patting her horse's shoulder. "I'd even go so far as saying they'd be contest winners in Sinnoh and race winners in all regions. A friend of mine actually has a four-time race winning stud stallion he'd be willing to lend me. And I know of a woman in Sinnoh who is looking for a strong female to breed with her six-time national contest champion."

"Woah! Woah, boyo! I wasn't sayin' now! I'm nowhere near ready to be land-bound that long!" Maria laughed and Kouki modestly retreated, thinking he over did it, again. Maria smiled at him. "But I'll definitely keep ye in mind. Kouki, right? Ye be a pirate, lad?" Kouki nodded and pointed to his ship and Maria nodded. "I know yer captain. I'll keep in touch." She said as she returned her shiny Rapidash and hooked the shrunk-down pokeball to her waist. "Now, 'ave ye two eaten?" She asked and the two of them nodded. "Well, how about a drink then?" She asked and Ariel chuckled. "Sure, but don't ask our ages." Maria laughed again. "Wouldn't dream of it, missy! Wouldn't dream of it." Ariel grinned and took Kouki's hand, leading him to the nearby pub. Kouki shook his head and stepped back. "I will join you in a minute. I'm going to take the stallion with me." He said as he walked back and Ariel nodded. "Alright." She said as she entered in after the captain.

The bar was a rather welcoming place, considering the types who regularly drank there. The lighting was mostly by candle and lanterns, casting flickering orange shadows across the aged wood. The smell of alcohol, sweat, ocean and wood permeated in the air like a thick perfume that Ariel was not entirely opposed too. Maria led her to a table in the back that was made entirely of driftwood and the two took their seats. Ariel watched as Tanzanite convinced the captain's Ambipom to join him and the two scampered away, leaving both women chuckling. "That be a dangerous combination, eh, missy?" Maria snickered and Ariel nodded. "We may get kicked out of here before long. Better order those drinks to go." Ariel winked and Maria roared with laughter. "Aye, so tell me, missy, what be a Rebellion member doin' all te way out here? Supply run?" Maria asked and Ariel nodded. "Yep. I'm the runner for Pallet Town this time." She said and not another word was spoken about it. Both parties kept to some semblance of silence about their pasts and where they came from; it was a mutual respect for the safety hazards of the job. Maria leaned back in her chair, eyes sparkling as the waiter arrived. "Rum, me boy." She bellowed. "A proper pirate's servin'. And leave te bottle." She barked and the waiter nodded and scampered away to get the drink.

Ariel intertwined her hands as she leaned forward. "I heard your ship specializes in rescues." She mentioned and Maria nodded slightly. "Aye, we do what we can." She said back and Ariel smiled. "Well, I need Tauros. I also need twenty gardening spades, bandages, wraps and fresh Lum berries." She said, straightforward as always. Maria smirked and nodded, pleased with the straight tone and thought to herself. "Sounds like it's plantin' season." She mused quietly. "As for me rescues, I haven't the faintest. Me cabin boy, Shine, he took over all te rescues when we got 'em." She confessed with a shrug. "We'd 'ave to ask 'im." Ariel sighed and chuckled softly. "Alright. Then how about we make this a short drink?" She said with a smile. "Longer I'm here, the more likely to be spotted." She said and Maria nodded. "Aye. I understand, missy. We'll have a round and head to me ship." She said as the bottle was placed in the table along with two drinking mugs. Maria filled both cups, hers all the way and Ariel's halfway, and raised her pint up. "Ta freedom, missy?" She said with a wink and Ariel eagerly banged her pint against the captain's. "To freedom!" She declared and they both downed the drinks.

Maria's ship was an impressive beauty. The massive ship was made from a strong wood that had water-darkened from the salt water it had been exposed to all its life. The ship was one of the largest in the Pokepirates' fleet, a full two masts shot up from the body of the great ship. The width was massive, like some large whale made of wood had risen from the ocean. The coloring of the ship's paint was faded, but the deep red color of the wood was still apparent. The ship bobbed up every now and again, showing the faded paint and the dark wood showed where the salt had chipped the paint to a non-existent state. The front of the ship's outside carried a magnificently carved Dragonair that curled against the ship's hull and shot out proudly against the waves. Its mouth was open in a roar against the sea's defiance and the teeth of the powerful dragon were bared towards the horizon. The statue was painted blue, but in many places the paint was faded and chipped, adding to the rustic look of the old ship.

The masts, strong pillars that were so thick that two men had to reach all the around them, reached up to scratch the sky. The masts were oiled daily against water damage; thick Wailord lard was swabbed over the masts weekly; nevertheless, the age of the wood was clear. Against the masts flowed two sails each. One large triangle sail near the top and a smaller rectangular one near the middle. The previously white sails had been dyed Dragonair blue; the light color nearly blended to the sky and shined as only Silcoon silk could. Maria was proud of her sails, recently purchased and ready for their first storm. The largest sail carried Maria's symbol, a Dragonair Wrap-ing and getting ready to Crunch a Persian. Maria saw it as a symbol of rebellion against all forms of vanity, righteous or not. Ariel smirked and ran her hand along the wood. "She's beautiful." She said quietly and Maria nodded. "Aye, that she is." The woman agreed before she ducked under the securing ropes and vanished into a crowd of crewmembers, seemingly to find the one she needed.

Ariel looked over her shoulder again to make sure Kouki was still with the stallion. He caught her gaze and smiled at her gently, to which Ariel waved back and smiled herself, feeling the love-sick feeling overtake her once again. "Are ya married to 'im, missy?" Ariel jumped slightly at Maria's voice but shook her head, reluctantly looking away from her beloved to look at the captain who was leaning against the ship and smiling. "No. Not much time for marriage when I'm fighting for a cause he wants nothing to do with." She said with a slight smile. Maria chuckled. "Could've fooled me, missy. Te way ya stare at 'im, I'd assume ya'd be ready to jump ship with 'im." She muttered and Ariel had a horror-struck look flash over her face. "No! I could never ask him to do that!" She wailed and Maria put her hands up in surrender. "Easy, missy. I wasn't serious. But 'e be a fine lad. Ya keep 'im, a'right?" She asked and Ariel nodded, smirking. "Oh, don't worry. He's not getting away from me." She said with a wink. "He's all mine." She said and Maria laughed. "Such faith. Refreshin'." She said before she motioned Ariel to follow her.

Ariel followed and picked Tanzanite up as he caught up with her, him settling back into her hood as she walked. Soon the captain led to a large group of cages with various pokemon in them. Ariel looked at each, noting the levels of sanity in each, before a look of sadness crossed her face. Some of them would be sold back to Team Utsu or to restaurants and factories for food. Some were terrified and some seemed at ease with the situation as if they accepted whatever fate came their way. Maria cleared her throat and Ariel looked over to see a black-clad young man with wild grey hair and a nearly-blind houndoom at his side. She looked only partially lucid and Ariel decided against letting her meet Anubis. She smiled. "You must be Shine." She said, pronouncing it the way the captain did—Shee-nay—rather than the way it was spelled. The boy nodded and looked at his papers. "Captain Maria said you wanted Tauros. I'm afraid we didn't manage to find any this time as they mostly roam the wilder parts of Johto now. None of the ships were able to dock to the mainland this time." He explained and Ariel nodded with a sigh. "Well, how about Lum berries, bandages, gardening spades and wraps?" She asked and Shine smirked. "Those, we do have. Come this way." He said as he led Ariel from the pokemon section and towards different crates.

Ariel smirked to herself as she walked out of the area for the _Dragonair's Fang_ and headed back to where Kouki's ship was so she could pick up the seeds and fertilizer. Sebastian was trotting next to her, his bag filled to the brim with gardening spades, berries and bandages, same as Ariel's own bag. Tanzanite was happily munching on a large crystalline amethyst quartz that Maria had given to him for keeping her Ambipom amused for a while. Ariel hummed slightly, seeing Kouki and his ship come into view. She grinned and sprinted, as best she could with such a load, down the water front to get to him. Kouki looked up and smiled, Maio sprinting towards her and Sebastian when a thundering crack was heard. Ariel stopped dead in her tracks as the earth shifted underneath her, making her fall to her knees. Everything seemed to be in chaos at once. Another thundering boom was heard and buildings along the water front began to collapse as the earth underneath them caved in. Ariel watched in horror as screaming people were sucked into the dirt as if a black hole had suddenly called the dirt to it. Whirlpools of earth were created as more booms went off, crackling the air with a deafening hiss. Ariel covered her ears and suddenly a huge explosion went off at the market just 5 minutes from where she was standing. Debris flew everywhere and a few unfortunates were impaled horribly, dead before they hit the ground.

The earth shuddered and shifted and Ariel saw chaos by the ships as the hulls where pierced with flying debris. Pokemon scrambled about, separated from trainers or freed from cages. Frightened little beasts began biting, scratching and stinging whatever was in their path, making a dangerous wave of nothing but fear and chaos to crash around Ariel. Ariel tried to get up again when another boom echoed across the air and she was once again knocked off her feet as the restaurant she and Kouki had been at earlier splintered and sent fragments of wood, glass and stone in all directions. Ariel held her arms over her chest and cried out as debris buried itself into her flesh and glass cut trails across her skin and clothing. She felt where stone pieces were hitting her legs and head, feeling the bruises as they formed. Sebastian and Tanzanite tried to take the worst of it for their partner, while still dodging the fatal ones when Ariel heard a yelling. She looked up to see people rushing towards the water front and it took her mind longer than she liked to recognize them. Team Utsu Grunts.

She growled and grabbed her pokebelt when a sudden pain hit the side of her head. It was a throbbing numbing pain and she saw her vision swim before her eyes, all the colors blending in as if someone had stirred up the watery reflection she was staring at. She felt her legs give out as the swirling colors slowly darkened. Her hand slowly lifted to her head and she felt a sticky, warm substance coat her hand as her knees collided painfully with the cement of the waterfront. She felt her body lean forward as her vision went completely black and she prepared for the impact of her skull on the ground. It never came. She briefly felt the fur of Sebastian's mane and his canine smell before her senses completely shut down and her body slumped painfully.

Join us: s4. zetaboards Rebellion _ Fire/index/

Jade Tea


End file.
